Squeeze blade gun



June 14, 1966 J. P. RENSHAW 3,255,745

SQUEEZE BLADE GUN Filed April 30, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheer. 1

FIG. .1.

INVENTOR. JOHN F. RENSHAW m/wm/ ATTORNEYS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 30, 1963 FIG 4 FIG. 3

FIG. 5

FIGS

FIG. 7

FIG. 8

INVENTOR. JOHN P. RENSHAW bum /mww/ ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,255,745 SQUEEZE BLADE GUN John P. Renshaw, 340 Pine St., San Francisco, Calif. Filed Apr. 30, 1963, Ser. No. 276,886 7 Claims. (Cl. 1241tl) This invention relates to a squeeze gun for compressing a projectile between two blades to cause the projectile to be moved forward at a high velocity.

It is highly desirable to provide small calibre highvelocity Weapons which operate on pure mechanical principles. Most devices of such nature use high-pressure air on a small density per unit of cross section projectile to obtain high-velocity yet relatively small range and low penetration power; or they use high spring loading to obtain a lower velocity with resultant smaller range and low penetration. In the present invention fairly high velocity can be obtained by a small calibre projectile of relatively high density per unit of cross section (i.e. projectile length greater than diameter) to give greater range and penetration with relatively low spring loading due to the unique projectile driving characteristics of the device of the instant invention. This invention should make possible higher velocities than are now possible using springs and is particularly practical because of modern low-friction materials.

The subject invention includes a barrel containing the projectile and a pair of scissor-like arms which close at an increasingly higher forward velocity vector about the rear of the projectile to cause the projectile to be literally squeezed out of the barrel. A unique cam and a spring loading arrangement is arranged to cause the blades to obtain a high terminal closing velocity. One of the features used to obtain this effect is a cam effect which causes the blades to close at relatively high force-tovelocity ratio at the start of closure and to go into a high velocity and lowerforce at the terminaltime of closure. By means of this relationship the projectile is started into movement under relatively high force and accelerated by the high-velocity closure at the termination ,of the transfer of power from the blades to the projectile.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a squeeze gun in which a spring-loaded force is arranged to close two relatively light weight arms which grasp a projectile between the arms to cause the projectile to be forcefully and at fairly high velocity carried to the ends of the arms.

Another object of the invention is to suitably provide such arms with a low-friction-coeflicient material to provide minimal frictional resistance between the blades and the projectile.

Another object of the invention is to form the blades in relatively overlapping relationship so that each blade contacts the projectile on opposite sides of the center during closure of the blades. Because of the off-center relationship the frictional force transfer from the blades to the projectile also causes the projectile to rotate for ballistic purposes as the projectile is moved forward.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel cam mechanism comprising a portion of spring actuated part of each blade so that there is a substantial additional build-up of the blades closing radial acceleration and velocity as the blade progresses in its state of closure.

One of the features and advantages of this invention lies in the fact that the structure is entirely mechanical and does not require a gas blast so that the device can be operated with a minimum of noise and still obtain a projectile velocity, range, and penetration competitive with very small calibre firearms. This is of substantial importance where the device is used as weaponry in areas where weapon noise might allow detection of the user or where weight of ammunition, or weapon simplicity, or reliability under extreme conditions are advantageous.

Another object of this invention lies in the fact that the velocities obtainable through this invention are such that the device can be used as a lethal weapon for military applications or as a sporting device for small size game.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar characters of reference represent corresponding parts in each of the several views.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the squeeze gun of this invention showing the blades in open position and in which the housing of the gun is shown in broken lines.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the side elevation of the gun mechanism showing the blades in the closed position.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the barrel taken at line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, enlarged cross-sectional view of the edge portion of the blades.

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional, enlarged spring-loaded projectile or shell stop which is arranged to hold the projectile within the barrel until the device is fired.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a cross section of the barrel with a projectile being squeezed out of the barrel.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of an illustrative projectile.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view illustrating the rotational effect of the blades on the projectile.

Referring to the drawings, the gun of this invention is mounted within a housing A in which there is carried a barrel B, a pair of scissor-like arms C mounted on the base of the barrel and adapted to swing inwardly into the barrel through slots 18. An arm closing mechanism, generally indicated at D, is mounted in the interior of the housing in such a way that the arm closing mechanism causes the arm to close to force a projectile to move out of the barrel at high velocity.

The arms C are mounted on a block 22, rigidly afiixed to the base end of the barrel. The block carries an axle 23 upon which are mounted the hubs of the two arms. The center point of the axle is mounted in axial alignment with the center of the barrel. The principle of the guns operation includes the positioning of a projectile 20 in the base of the barrel and then forcing the two blades or arms to a closed position through slots 18- to force the projectile out of the barrel. The termination or mouth end 25 of the barrel forms a non-slotted, rigid support to provide further guidance for the projectile after leaving the influence of the arms. The arm closing device D comprises a fixed shaft 28 rigidly mounted to block 22. Shaft 28 is arranged to carry a reciprocally slidable piston 29 having a flanged head end 31 upon which is mounted a roller carrying block 32 carrying two pivotally mounted rollers 33. The rollers are spaced and positioned to engage the outside edges 35 of the two arms C and spaced so that as the rollers move forward they will cause the closure of the arms. The outer surface or face 35 is formed in an ascending arc to form a cam 36. By virtue of the cam the combination of forward motion of the rollers will cause a ratio of increased velocity of blade closure as the rollers move along the cam face. Thus, the blades will have an additional accelerating rate of closure as the rollers are moved forward. Thus will cause the projectile 20 to increase rapidly in volocity as the blade is moved inwardly towards the termination of the blade influence. Piston 29 is energized by a spring,

mounted around shaft 28 and biased against a terminal fiange 41 of the shaft. A sear pin 45 is arranged to 4 engage a slot 46 in piston 29 to hold the piston in the cocked position. The sear is retained in the slot by a spring 47 and is retracted from the slot by virtue of a trigger mechanism 48 pivotally mounted on shaft 49 so that upon retracting the trigger an arm 51 is enabled to withdraw the sear from the slot, thus freeing piston 29 for forward movement.

Cooking of the device is accomplished through a cocking handle 55 mounted on the upper portion of flange 31. The projectile or bullet 20 is retained in position by a projectile retaining pin 58, and a spring is urged against the forward end of the projectile by a spring mechanism 59 carried within a spring retaining housing 60 mounted on the lower face of barrel B. The details of the mechanism are shown in FIG. 5. The actuating surface of arms C is provided with a layer of low-friction material forming a projectile engaging face 64. The face 64 can be formed of such low-friction material such as Teflon or other materials which have a low-friction coeflicient.

It is noted that the two blades and the two slots as seen particularly in FIG. 3 are offset in scissor-like fashion so that one of the blades is mounted abovethe other blade, and the two slots are formed in complementary alignment. The two slots 18 are formed of sufllciently wide dimension so that the blades can pass freely through the slots completely unobstructed by the barrel structure. The off-set relationship of the blades allows the blades to engage the projectile at opposite sides of dead center. The effect of the engagement in this fashion imparts a rotary motion to the projectile as it is forced out of the barrel so that the projectile is rotated in the fashion similar to that obtained with lands and grooves of ordinary rifling. The effect of this rotation is illustrated schematically in FIG. 8 where the rotational effect of the blades acting off-center causes the projectile to rotate in a direction as indicated by arrow 69 as the bladesmove inwardly as indicated by arrows 71.

The projectile 20 is formed on its rear face in a half spherical, low-friction, material coated configuration as indicated at in FIG. 7 so that the engaging face 64 of the blades will engage the round or spherical face of the projectile to create an efficient low friction engaging the surface. Although the projectile 20 is shown in bullet shape configuration it is also obvious that the projectile could be another configuration such as for example a round ball or bb. The projectile is best formed by coating the rear face of the projectile with a low-friction material such as Teflon or its equivalent.

In operation, the piston 29 is cocked by moving actuating handle 55 rearwardly until sear 45 engages its restraining slot 46. Projectile 20 is then inserted into barrel B until it passes the restraining pin 58. The effect of restraining pin 58 is to hold projectile 20 in the barrel, and the action of the rear of the projectile against the blades holds the blades in open position. Upon pulling trigger 48 sear 45 is retracted from slot 46 allowing the piston 29 to move forwardly, The two rollers thus engage cam surface 36 to cause the blades to move into the closed position. Because the cam face of the blades tends to move at a higher rate of closure with a greater force to velocity ratio at the outset of propulsion and at a greater velocity to force ratio as the projectile is moved down the face of the blades, there is a relatively constant rate of acceleration of the projectile. The combination of the low-friction face 64 and the round low-friction face of the projectile results in low-frictional off-center drag between the two elements so that the projectile rotates in a ballistically stable fashion as it leaves the barrel.

The working faces of the blades are formed with their tips formed in a generally curved pattern so that the blades will be in a wedging substantially V-shaped relationship rather than near parallel relationship as they squeeze the projectile from the barrel. The squeezing arm area which contacts the accelerating projectile should have such a 4 configuration to obtain close to highest useful projectile acceleration over the entire length of the blade and to obtain the highest terminal velocity.

The projectile may be forced into the barrel by the use of a ram rod and by that means forced in position wherein the retaining pin will hold the projectile against accidental withdrawal from the barrel.

While the arms have been generally described as being formed of rigid material in the above specification it is to be noted that the arms could be formed of relatively flexible material wherein the arms would have a whip-like action on the projectile.

These and other modifications of the invention may be practiced, it being understood that the foregoing description is by way of illustration and example for purpose of clarity of understanding and such further modifications may be practiced within the spirit of the invention as limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A gun comprising a barrel, a pair of blades mounted for relative pivotal movement at the base of said barrel, a pair of slots formed in opposite sides of said barrel in alignment with said blades to allow said blades to enter the slots to protrude into the interior of said barrel, the point of pivotal mount of said blades being in axial alignment with the center axis of the barrel, means mounting a projectile at the base of said barrel between said blades, and means to cause said blades to move from an open position to a closed position to wedge said projectile forcefully out of said barrel, said blades closing means including means engaging the outside edge of each of said blades, and the outside edge of each of said blades formed in a curvature to cause said blades to move at a faster rate as the blades are moved towards the closed position.

2. A gun comprising a barrel, a pair of scissor-like blades mounted at the base of said barrel with their pivotal axis being located in axial alignment with said barrel, said blades being arranged to close one on top of the other through slots formed in the barrel wall, the mating surface of said blades upon closure being aligned on a plane aligned with the center of a plane bisecting the center of said barrel, a piston mounted for movement in co-axial relationship to said barrel, a pair of blade moving means mounted on saidpiston arranged to engage the outer edge of said blades, piston moving means to force said piston to move in the forward direction, the outer face of said blades and said blade moving means being mutually formed and positioned to cause said blades to close as saidpiston is moved forward, and a trigger means restraining said piston means from actuation until disengaged.

3. A gun comprising a barrel, a pair of blades pivotally mounted at the base of said barrel, the point of pivotal mount of said blades being in axial alignment with the center axis of the barrel, a slot formed in opposite sides of said barrel in singular alignment with each of said blades to allow said blades to protrude into the interior of said barrel, means to mount a projectile at the base of said barrel between said blades, a fixed piston and slidable cylinder mounted on said piston, blade closing means mounted on said cylinder to engage said blades to cause said blades to move from an open to a closed position to eject said projectile forcefully out of said barrel when said cylinder is moved forward, and means to forcefully move said cylinder forwardly.

4. A gun according to claim 3 and wherein said blade closing means includes pivotally mounted rollers engaging the outside edge of each of said blades and the other edge of said blades is formed to describe a curve whose varying angle of contact with the projectile causes said projectile to move faster as the blades are moved towards the closed position by said cylinder.

5. A gun as described under claim 3, blades closing means including pivotally mounted rollers engaging the outside edge of each of said blades, the other edge of said blades describing a curve whose varying angle of contact with the projectile causes said blades to move faster with respect to said projectile towards the closed position as said piston moves forwardly, said forward movement by the arrangement of said blades in said curve moving initially with relatively high power and low velocity to high velocity and low power at point of closure of said blades, such differential of velocity and power achieved by the upward ascending cam on the outside edge of each of said blades, such cam portion of said blades under engagement by the pivotally mounted rollers.

6. A gun comprising a barrel, said barrel formed with a projectile restraining portion adjacent the base of the barrel and with a bore formed to guide a projectile for travel through the barrel from the restraining portion to the forward end of the barrel, a pair of blades pivotal- 1y mounted at the base of said barrel for movement in an arc normal to the longitudinal axis of the barrel, a pair of slots formed along the length of said barrel to allow the blades to enter into the interior of the barrel for engagement and motivation of projectiles carried therein, and means to cause said blades to forcefully move from an open to a closed position whereby the blades move to wedge a projectile forcefully out of the barrel while said barrel guides the projectile in longitudinal travel between the blades.

7. A gun comprising a barrel forming an elongated bore to support and guide a projectile throughout its entire length for travel in a linear path, pivotally mounted blade means mounted on the end of the barrel to swing in an arc to enter the barrel along the sides therefrom and at an angle of movement normal to the longitudinal axis of the barrel, said barrel slotted longitudinally of its length to allow unobstructed entrance of said blade means into the interior of said barrel, a projectile receiving area formed adjacent the base of the barrel to receive a projectile and means to cause said blade means to swing into said barrel against a projectile to cause the projectile to be wedged through the length of the barrel whereby the barrel functions to guide the projectile during propulsion.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 867,226 10/1907 Allen 124-16 X 939,022 11/1909 Henry 124-16 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM R. BROWNE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A GUN COMPRISING A BARREL, A PAIR OF BLADES MOUNTED FOR RELATIVE PIVOTAL MOVEMENT AT THE BASE OF SAID BARREL, A PAIR OF SLOTS FORMED IN OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID BARREL IN ALIGNMENT WITH SAID BLADES TO ALLOW SAID BLADES TO ENTER THE SLOTS TO PROTRUDE INTO THE INTERIOR OF SAID BARREL, THE POINT OF PIVOTAL MOUNT OF SAID BLADES BEING N AXIAL ALIGNMENT WITH THE CENTER AXIS OF THE BARREL, MEANS MOUNTING A PROJECTILE AT THE BASE OF SAID BARREL BETWEEN SAID BLADES, AND MEANS TO CAUSE SAID BLADES TO MOVE FROM AN OPEN POSITION TO A CLOSED POSITION TO WEDGE SAID PRO- 